The Yale School of Management placed in the top 10 of two national business school rankings this week, continuing to improve its standing relative to other institutions.

The Wall Street Journal, which released its rankings Wednesday, named the SOM number six in the nation overall — up from ninth place last year. The University of Michigan was first. In the Princeton Review’s list, the SOM placed second for “Best Overall Academic Experience.” The Stanford Graduate School of Business placed first in that category.

“I’m pleased with the trajectory of the school,” SOM Dean Jeffrey Garten said. “Over the last several years we have consistently moved up.”

In addition to overall rankings, the SOM collected several more specific accolades. For the second year in a row, the Wall Street Journal ranked the school first for the ethical standards of its graduates. It also placed the SOM in the top five for excellence in finance, strategy and opportunities for women. The Princeton Review also dubbed it eighth most selective.

The rankings were determined by different methods. While the Wall Street Journal used recruiter responses to evaluate each school on 20 different attributes, the Princeton Review surveyed students and obtained data from the schools themselves.

“It’s always nice to see in print what we already think to be true,” SOM Admissions Director Anne Coyle said.

Coyle said she is particularly pleased that recruiters ranked the SOM so highly in career opportunities for female graduates, since the school has been actively recruiting women. The class of 2006 is 34 percent female, up from 29 percent the previous year, she said.

The Wall Street Journal conducted its survey of recruiters between Dec. 2, 2003 and March 31, 2004. Both Garten and Coyle said the SOM has improved its programs since then, and they expect changes to be reflected in upcoming rankings.

“It takes a little while to get on the public radar screen, but I would be very surprised if in the next year or two you don’t see marketing very high up on this rating,” Garten said.

He said the SOM was also at a disadvantage relative to other schools because of its young age and smaller alumni base.

Despite the strong showing in both rankings, Coyle and SOM students said neither the Wall Street Journal nor the Princeton Review seems to be highly influential with prospective applicants.

“In the past it hasn’t seemed that applicants pay too much attention to the Wall Street Journal,” Coyle said. “It’s always nice to be ranked in the top 10 anywhere, but it remains to be seen this year how much attention they pay to that.”

Gautam Nangia SOM ’05 said he considered only the U.S. News and World Report rankings when making his decision.

“To me, just the name Yale was a selling point,” he said. “But other than that, the rankings I looked at were U.S. News. And I think for most students that’s the case.”